THIRTY-FOrRTH FRUIT-GROWERS ' CONVENTION. 



169 



mid as g'obcl oranges as we can on a given acreage on a given outlay, 

 and get as much money for them as possible at the least expense. 



We have an index to the success of our various growers in various 

 districts and associations, and that is found in the daily papers every 

 day where we find a column which is headed "Daily Citrus Reports of 

 Eastern ^Markets. " If we look over the list every da}^ we see these 

 differences. In this morning's "Times" we see the lirst brand sells for 

 $3.35 and the last one on the list for $1.40. There is a difference of 

 $1.95 a box. The ability to control the factors which brought about 

 those differences is the feature of supreme importance in growing and 

 selling oranges. One was selected and was a better ([uality of fruit 

 l\v selection. One was a fancy or extra fancy and the other a low 

 standard. 



Now. there is another factor besides the selling price. Two or three 

 weeks ago I happened to be over in Salt Lake City, and I examined 

 the ce>ndition of oranges. I found that you could not buy oranges 

 nf good quality there for less than fifty cents a dozen. I watched the 

 anarkets, and I watched the oranges at a certain fruit stand, and very 

 often a certain orange would stay there for several days. The price 

 was too high and the quality was too low. So, I do not think it is 

 desirable to look for the highest price all the time. In my opinion it 

 is more important to decrease the cost of production than to increase 

 the selling price. We must look more to economy of production than to 

 high prices. 



Fertilization is one of the most important factors. It is not the 

 (mly factor, but it is a very important one. At the end it comes down 

 largely to the difference between the general and the specific, and it is 

 a very important, or a very doubtful question which is more important, 

 . the perfection of the general or the perfection *of the specific ; that 

 is to say, whether it is altogether desirable to try to show people 

 that they' can put on a certain thing and a certain amount and 

 leave out everything else and get certain results. And the question 

 comes up whether it is not desirable to advise the use of a complete 

 fertilizer. It is quite doubtful at present Avhether there is not more 

 danger with the average grower in advising him to use single elements 

 than there is in advising the use of some good commercial fertilizer. 



Now, the citrus experiment station is established for the benefit of 

 the citrus industry, and has already begun considerable work in regard 

 to this problem of fertilization. We are experimenting on a large 

 number of trees by the use of different elements — nitrate of - soda, 

 phosphoric acid, potash, and other things. 



I find in this well-known book compiled by B. M. Lelong, on "Citrus 

 Culture. ' ' an article by Professor Hilgard on ' ' Fertilization, ' ' in which 

 he says : 



A question wholly aside from those discussed above, is that of the special modifi- 

 cation of crops by the use of a surplus of certain substances known to produce a 

 specific eifect. Thus, common salt is known to make asparagus and some other 

 vegetables more succulent and tender : nitrogenous matter increases the size and 

 succulence of fruits, and some experiments made with potash fertilizers on oranges, 

 point to an increase of sweetness thereby. It is, then, simply a question whether or 

 not purchasers appreciate such modifications sufficiently to render their attainment 

 a profitable undertaking, apart from any increase of the crop or the maintenance of 

 soil fertility. 



